The Republican candidate for New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District is coming under fire for comments he made after he attended a ceremony at Kewa Pueblo.

Tom Mullins was at the pueblo on January 25. "There weren't too many white faces there in the room," he told KENN-AM the next day.

"They're having a religious ceremony. It stands to reason it would be full of Native Americans, especially from that pueblo," Laura Harris, the executive director of Americans for Indian Opportunity, told the Associated Press.

"When someone makes a statement like that, you wonder what in the heck he's talking about," added Harris, who also attended the ceremony.

Native Americans make up about 19 percent of the population in the district. It's home to the 14 Pueblo tribes, the Jicarilla Apache Nation and most of the New Mexico portion of the Navajo Nation.

Get the Story:
Mullins jabbed for 'white faces' remark (AP 7/15)
Mullins: Few white faces' at Indian ceremony (AP 7/16)